Mold for manufacturing footwear



May 31, 1932. A. A. GLIDDEN ET AL MOLD FOR MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR Filed May 15, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet [7? yen/23ers:

@Awl 1M, 4M 7mm ay 31, 1932- A. 'A. GLIDDEN ET AL. 1,360,412 I I MOLD FOR MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR Filed May 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvafl/ 230715 1 3) 31, 1932' A. A. GLIDDEN ET AL 1,860,412

MOLD FOR MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR Filed May 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 31, 1932 V UNITED? mm,

QFFICE ALFRED A". emnnnn nnnmirorms M. KNOWLAND, or wA'rEn'rowN, massncnusnr'rs, assrenons, BY;MES1\IE: ASSIGNMENTS, monoonm mnnaconramr, 11m, orwim mmeron, DELAWARE, AconroaA'rIoN or D L W E.

' Morn FOR I MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR Application filed May'15,

This invention relates to an improved mold and ,process for "manufacturing footwear. The mold and process of this invention are particularly adaptedfor manufacturing canvas footwear with rubber compound soles.

The object of the invention is to provide a shoe,'preferably with a canvas upperzand a rubber compoundsole firmly attached thereto and vulcanized, the appearance of the shoe when completed being substantially the same as that of the ordinary leather shoe, except as to the material .of the upper and sole and heel. I s

Another object of the invention isto provide a shoe, preferably with a canvas upper and a rubber compound sole firmly attached thereto and vulcanized, in which there are recesses and or projections on the tread of the sole and/or heel. Some types of shoes with canvas uppers, particularly athletic shoes, require very deep indentations in the outsole, Also, it is desirable to .have recesses in the heel into which corresponding projections on the mold project for more, perfect vulcanization of thecomparatively, thick portion of material forming the heel, the pattern or corrugations on the sole of the shoe forming a non-skid surface. a s

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a process whereby recesses, indentations or projections may be formed upon the tread of the sole and/or heel during the process of attaching the sole and heel to the shoe upper and to vulc'anize the sole and heel during the same process. T I

The ordinary factory gprocess forms the outsole pattern by, means of an engraved calender roll in combination with another calender roll, between which the material to 1929. Serial No. 363,358

take place at the same time, orimmediatelyinsuccession. during the same sequence of operations in theprocess. 1

Heretofore in manufacturing canvas footwear the rubber compound sole has been at:

tached to the fupperby a narrow'strip of rubber or rubber fabric composition which is cemented around'the entire edge of the shoe on the outerface thereof to a height of about one-half inch, and this strip of foxing is for the, purpose of securely attaching the sole to the canvas upperr The appearance,

however, of a shoe .made:in this manneris very unslghtly, and in the manufacture of the. shoe by the process and mold of this invention, thefoxing is omitted and the outsole 1 attached to the innersole and to the edges of the upper, (which latterare turned inwardly over the innersole) by tacks and by vulcanizable cement and by very heav pressure during the molding operation, w ile at the same time the rubber compound soleand/or heel is provided with recesses and also vulcanized. I I

' Incarrying out our improved process, the

canvasupper assembly, consisting of a vamp and quarter and other parts sewed together, is placed upon a last and the edges of the upper lasted over an innersole which is placed uponthe bottom of the last. The inturned edges of the upper are attached to the innersole in any suitable manner. T he lasted upper, together with the innersole are then removed from the last and placed upon a hollow last,'or core, in a mold, the core being heated by steam or hot water. Side pres ser plates are then brought to bear againstzthe outer surface of the upper adjacent to the in: nersole, and these side presser plates have beads on their inner faces which press the edge of the upper against the innersole and prevent the rubber compound of the outsole ing engraved upon the surface which con-.

tacts with the tread of the sole. any pattern which it may be desired to impart to the sole. The surface of the'presser plate which contacts with the tread of the heel may have en'- graved thereon recessed portions so as to obtain. projections on the tread of the heel, or it may have projections thereon which will roject into the heel and result in more perectly vulcanizing the thick material of which the heel iscomposed, while at the same time forming recesses in the heel. The heated presser'plate is leftin contact with the outsole and heel, under heavy pressure, until the sole and heel are vulcanized. The sole presser plate is. thenreleased and moved out of contact with the sole and its heel and the side presser plates are moved out of contact with the upper and the shoe is then removed from the core or boot tree and from the mold, it being then completed with the sole firmly attached to the-innersole andthe inturned edges of the upper, and the sole and heel being vulcanized without any of the material of the sole appearing on the outer or visible face of the upper of the shoe and with the tread portion of the sole provided with receased portions preferably in the form of a pattern to prevent skidding, and with the tread portion ofthe heel, where desired, provided with recesses and/or corrugations.

The sole and heel of .the shoe of this invention are formed of a rubber'compound which contains vulcanizable material, and prior to the vulcanizing operation this sole and heel are comparatively yielding or plastic, sotha-t when molded under pressure the inturned portions of the upper are first pressed into the rubber o't' the'sole and become intermingled therewith and firmly attached thereto, so that they cannot be torn apart by any use to which a shoe may be subjected. Then as the vulcanizing process takes place, the intermingled portions of fabric and upper become integral with each other, and vulcanized together.

If desired, the upper referred to may be lasted over the innersole and attached thereto either by tacks or by vulcanizable cement, in the latter case the inturned edges being rubbed down into close contact with the innersole and theoutsole subsequently attached fication and as set forth in the claims.

to the upper and innersole by vulcanizable cement and by molding and vulcanizing the same thereon by the process, and preferably by the mold of this invention.

The invention consists in the process of manufacture hereinbefore and hereinafter described and in the mold specifically described in the following portion of the speci- Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of our improved mold for manufacturing footwear.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, and

Fig. 4 a sectional elevation taken on line l-4, Fig. 2. a

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 55,Fig. 2. v

Fig. 6 is an underneath plan of an outsole such as will be produced by our improved process and mold.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section taken on line 7-7, Fig. 6, with the presser plate shown in engagement with the tread surface of the outsole. I

Like numerals refer to like parts in the several views of the drawings.

The mold of this invention is in duplicate, and as the two portions thereof are practically duplicates of each other, except that they are rights and lefts, av description of one portion of the mold will apply equally well to the other portion thereof.

In the drawings, 5 is the base'of the mold.

6 isa core upon which the shoe is mounted f during the molding and vulcanizing operation. This core is provided with a chamber 7 and an inlet'port 8, to which av pipe leading to a suitable source of steam or hot water is connected. The upper end of the core 6 is C from the last and placed upon the core or boot tree6 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. I

The upper 9, it will be seen, has its edges 10 folded over aninsole 11 in the usual manner and these inwardlyturned edges 10 are at tached to the insole 11 by tacks during the lasting operation or by rubbing them or rolling them thereagainst, cement having been applied to the insole in order that the edges of the upper may adhere thereto. This operation is known as stitchin After the-shoe upper and the insole have been removed from the last upon which the upper was lasted, they are drawn up over the boot tree or form 6 as shown in Fig. 4.

A pair of oppositely disposed side presser plates 12 and 13 are fastened to arms 14 and 15 and these are duplicated at opposite ends of the shoe tree 6. These arms-are pivoted at 16 to brackets 17, which are fastened to the base 5, the pivot 16 being located, as shown in 3 4s edges of the upper by a. sole Presser member FigsL3 and 4,. below :andbetween the centers ofgravity of the presser members 12 and 13,

thereby causing the force of-gravity to facilitate automatic separation of the members laterally from the shoe on release thereof, and this arrangement has the advantage .also that sole engagingbeads 24, 24' are caused to be moved out of engagementwith the sole downwardlyand outwardly at an acute angle to the I sole: without :dra'gging against the edges thereof.

Clamp lever-s18 are pivotedat 119 to ope.

posite ends ofthe .side presser; plate 13 and theseclamp levers are each provided with a handle 20 and with a downwardly projecting arm;21 having an inclined edge 22 which, whenrthe lever 18 is thrown downwardly toward-the positionit occupies in Fig. 3, will engage a pin 23 projecting from the side presser plate 12. This draws the side presser plates 12-and 13 snugly together and presses them against the outerface of the upper 9.

- Eachof the clamp plates is provided with w an inwardly extending bead 24 which projects over the inwardly folded edge 10 of the upper and presses it downwardly and inwardly against, the innersole l1 and prevents any of the. rubber of the outsole from being forced downwardly into contact with the outer face of the upper 9 during themolding operation.

'It will be observed that the side presser 7 plates 12 and 13 .projectupwardly above the upper end'of the boot tree 6 forming avchamber 25'therebetween, into which the sole of rubber compound, or. any other material desired, and ,of approximately the shape of the sole and heel which it is desired to attach to the upper of the shoe, is inserted.

Before the sole ispositioned in the chamber- 25 it preferably has adhesive material applied to its inner face, and the outer face of the innersole andthe edges of the upper projectingrthereover also have adhesive material applied thereto: The sole and heel'are pressed against the innersole and the'infolded 26, which consists of a plate, 27 and a holder 28pprovided With'a chamber 29 into which,

steam or hot water is admitted through a port 30'and passes out through another port 31.

The presser member 26 is provided at one end thereof with apair of ribs 32 and with a pair of arms .33, and between the ribs 32 and thearms 33 is an upper end of a link 34 which" I is pivotally connected thereto by a pin 35.

The, lower end of the link 34-is pivoted to an eccentric 39 on a shaft 37 mounted to rock in eccentric-bushings 36 positioned inthe base e-The eccentric 39 is positioned in a slot 40 in said base 5 and the shaft 37 is provided with a squared'e'nd 38 by means of which it can be rotated to adjust the. link 34 and consequently oneend of, the sole presser member 26.

stop pin41 in the base 5 extends across the 8103 20 and forms astop, to limit the extent to: which the link 34 can tip outwardly,as in the position illustrated in dotted lines, Fig. 2..

Thearms 33 and ribs 32, together withithe outsole presser member 26 all iare adapted to rock upon the pivot 35 until-la pin 42, which extends through the arms 33and ribs 32,,en gages the right hand edge of the linki34ias illustrated in dotted lines, Fig. 2. A spring 43 assists in the tippingof the sole presser member 26 from the position illustrated in full lines to that shown in dottedlines, Fig.2.

The sole presser member 26 is forced downwardly'at the oppositeend from the. link 34, t a i or at the front end of the shoe,-by a shaft 44 andeccentric 45 which are of the same con. struction and operation as the shaft 37 and eccentric 39 hereinbefore describedw The ec-,

centric 45 is positioned in the lower end of astandard 46, the upper end of which terminates in a stud 47 provided with a shoulder 48 upon which a clamp plate 49 rests, and the clamp plate is held from moving upwardly on the stud 47 by nuts 50 and 51 which have. screw-threaded engagement with the stud 47.

Theclamp plate 49 can be rotated upon the stud 47 from the full line position illustrated vas upper is manufactured in the usual man I ner by sewing together the parts which form the upper. This upper assembly is. then placed upon a last and lasted'in the usual manner, the inturned edges of the upper being attached by tacks during thelasting operation'or by'cement to an 'innersole and rubbed down or stitched. Cement is then placed upon the 'innersole and the inturned edges of the upper, and the upper and innersole are removed from the last and placed upon and drawn over the boot tree form 6,

as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. I

Theside presser plates 12 and 13, which are at this time in the respective positions illustrated by dotted lines, Fig.4, are now drawn upwardly andinwardly into the posi tions shown in full lines, Fig. 4, and the clamp levers at *opposite ends of the side presser plates are drawn downwardly, thus locking the side presser plates together and pressing them firmly against thevouter face.

of the upper 9, while'the beads 24 press the inturned edges firmly against the innersole 11. An outsole 11 now has its inner face covered with adhesive material and is placed in the chamber 25 between theginner faces of the side presser trated inFig. 4.,

plates 12 and 13, as'illus- The outsole 11' is composed of rubber compound and has incorporated therein materials which render it vulcanizable, and the cement which is placed upon the innersole and upon'the inner face of the outsole also contains materials which render it vulcanizable. V

It will be understood that the outsole, when it is. placed in the chamber 25, is not cured or vulcanized, but is in a comparatively soft or lastic state. 1

he sole presser members 26 are now moved downwardly by means of handles 52 from the position illustrated in dotted lines to the position illustrated in full lines, Fig. 2, and the in an uncured or unvulcanized state the iiiturned edges of the upper are pressed into the outsole and the fabric or canvas becomes intermingled with the material of the outsole prior to the vulcanizing operation. The parts of the shoe are held in this position with the inturned edges of the upper pressed into the outsole and the vulcanizing operation is then performed, due to the heat of the sole presser members 26 and plates 27 and the cores or boot trees 6.

It has been found by experiment that about ten minutes is suflicient to completely vulcanize the outsole and heel and to vulcanize it to the intnrned portions of the upper, so that the upper is attached to and vulcanized in the outsole making it impossible to separate the two by any strain that may be brought to bear upon them in practice.

It will be understood, as hereinbefore set forth',,that the upper may be lasted to the innersole in any suitable manner, but preferably, and especially is this the case where the upper is made of heavy canvas, the upper is lasted to the innersole by a machine and the intjurned edge portions of the upper are fastened to the innersole by tacks.

Where a box-toe is embodied in the shoe, a box-toe embodying therein cork with a gum binder is prefrable and this box toe is prepared by heating it to soften the same prior to the lasting operation. It is then inserted between the lining and the vamp of the upper and. lasted in a well-known manner. \Vhenthe shoe,.ha'ving the box therein, is removed from the mold, as hereinbefore described, the box is soft and it is necessary to place within the completed shoe, after rethereof, which otherwise would be badly wrinkled and distorted due to the contraction of the stretched fabric after it has been removed from the mold.

Iii-the foregoing description of our invention reference is particularly madeto Figs. 1 to 5 in which the surface of the presser plate which contacts with the outsole is smooth.

In Figs. 6 and 7 the sole and heel are shown with projections and recesses which are imparted thereto by corresponding recesses and projections respectively on the presser plates. Referring particularly to Figs. 6 and 7, 50 is an outsole with heel 51, the same bein formed of vulcanizable rubber compoun A design is imparted to the tread surface of the outsole and consists of aprojecting rib 52 and recessed portions 53. The tread of the heel is provided with circular projections 54 and recesses. 55. This provides a nonskid outsole.

Referring to Fig. 7, 56 is the heated presser plate corresponding to the heated presser plate 27 illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The presser plate 56 is provided with recesses or grooves 57, whereby the ribs 52 are formed upon the tread of the outsole and it is also provided with projections 58 whereby the recesses 53 in the tread of the outsole are produced. The heel portion of the presser plate 56 is provided with annular grooves 59, whereby the annular projections 54 are embossed upon the tread of the heel 51. The presser plate 56 is also provided with projecting pins 60 which project into the heel and form the recesses 55. These projecting pins convey heat to the interior of the heel 51 and materially assist in the vulcanizing process. In Fig. 7, 6 is the core or boot tree. 9 is the upper and 11 the innersole, as in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

\Ve claim:

1. A mold for manufacturing footwear having, in combination, a core, a pair of oppositely disposed side presser plates projecting above said core, means to press the inner faces of said presser plates against the outer face of'an upper positioned on said core and lasted to an innersole, a sole presser member positioned between said side presser plates, a link, to the upper end of which said sole presser member is pivoted, means to adjustsaid link vertically, and means to press the free end of said sole presser member toward an outsole positioned above said core on said innersole.

2. A mold for manufacturing footwear having, in combination, a core, a pair of oppositely disposed sidepresser plates projecting above said core, means to press the inner faces of said presser plates against the outer face of an upper positioned on said core and lasted to an innersole, a sole presser member positioned between said side presser plates, a link, to the upper end of which said sole presser member is pivoted, means to ads free end of said sole presser'niember, where just said link vertically, a standard positioned adjacent the free end of said sole presser member, a clamp plate rotatably mounted on the upper end of said standard, and

means to force said clamp plate against the by said sole presser member may be forced against an outsole positioned above said core on said innersole.

3. A mold for manufacturing footwear having, in combination, a core, a pair of oppositely disposed side presser plates projecting above said core, means to press the inner faces of said presser plates against the outer face of an upper positioned on said core and lasted to an innersole,-a sole presser member positioned between said side presser plates, a link, to the upper end of "which; said sole presser member is pivoted, means to adjust said link vertically, a standard positioned adjacent the free end of said sole presser member, a clamp platerotatably mounted on the upper end of said standard, means to force said clamp plate against the free end of said sole presser member, and means to adjust said standard vertically, whereby said sole presser member may be forced against an outsole positioned above said core on said innersole.

4:. Footwear manufacturing apparatus comprising, in combination, a footwear form, a plurality of edgemolding members hingedly mounted for swinging movement to positions against a footwear structure on said form in fixed relation to the form to expose a determinate area of the lower portion of the footwear, and a sole molding member mounted for movement to a position tomold a sole against said exposed area of the footwear.

5. Footwear manufacturing apparatus comprising a pair of footwear forms, a sole pressing member for each form and means engageable with each of said sole pressing members for exerting pressure simultaneously on soles positioned onfootwear structures on the two forms.

6. Footwear manufacturing apparatus comprising a pair of footwear forms. a plurality of presser members positionable 7 against a footwear structure on each form,

structure on-said form, and an edge molding a sole pressing member, for each form and means engageable wlth said sole pressmg members for presslng them simultaneously against soles positioned on footwear structure on the two forms.

7. Footwear manufacturing apparatus comprising, in combination, a footwear form, means for molding a sole against a. footwear member positionable against said footwear structure, said member beingmounted for such swinging movement that in its footwear engaging position it tends by the force of gravityto swing away from said form.

ber, and a plurality of edge molding meal-- hers hinged to said support with their pivotal mountings lying in the region of the shank axis of said form.

In testimony whereofwe have hereunto set our hands.

ALFRED A. GLIDDEN. THOMAS M. KN OWLAND.

manufacturing apparatus 

